Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Three passengers have suffered injuries after a Kenya Airways aircraft with 55 passengers and crew on board skidded off the runway upon landing in Dar es Salaam, the airline said on Friday.

Flight KQ482 from Nairobi suffered a near-fatal crash after landing in bad weather at the Julius Nyerere Airport. The passengers were rushed to hospital for medical checkup after the Brazilian-made aircraft had what the airline termed a "runway excursion".

Kenya Airways Managing Director, Titus Naikuni, said the Tanzanian and Kenyan civil aviation authorities launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The Embraer 190 aircraft had 49 passengers and six crew members.

“The aircraft reportedly had a runway excursion in heavy rain. All passengers and crew were evacuated and we can confirm that three passengers suffered minor injuries during the evacuation and have been transferred to hospital for further observation,” Naikuni said in a statement.

The airline chief said his team was cooperating fully with government investigative agencies in Tanzania and Kenya on the matter.
-0- PANA AO/MA 11April2014